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WWII Combat Reports
Filmed under fire by the men who were there.
Official combat documentaries shot by U.S. service cameramen, from Midway and Tarawa to Iwo Jima, including John Ford's and John Huston's war films.
Directed by John Ford, John Huston, William Wyler and U.S. armed-forces combat cameramen
Content note: Real combat footage, including the dead and wounded.
Episodes
- The Battle of Midway · 18 min
Shot by John Ford's Navy camera crew during the Japanese attack on Midway Island in June 1942, in Technicolor.
- Report from the Aleutians · 43 min
John Huston records the building of an airfield on Adak and bombing missions against Japanese-held Kiska.
- The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress · 40 min
William Wyler flies with a B-17 crew on its 25th and final mission over Germany.
- With the Marines at Tarawa · 19 min
Marine combat cameramen film the bloody November 1943 assault on Betio atoll; Academy Award winner.
- Attack! The Battle for New Britain · 56 min
Army Signal Corps photographers follow the December 1943 landings at Arawe and Cape Gloucester in New Britain.
- The Battle of San Pietro · 32 min
John Huston's unflinching record of the costly December 1943 fight for an Italian hill village.
- To the Shores of Iwo Jima · 19 min
Navy, Marine and Coast Guard cameramen cover the invasion of Iwo Jima in color, including the flag raising.
- Fury in the Pacific · 20 min
Joint Army-Navy-Marine film of the 1944 assaults on Peleliu and Angaur, shot by combat cameramen landing with the troops.
Why this series is free to watch
This film was made by the U.S. government. Works made by federal employees as part of their jobs have no copyright in the United States, so anyone may show it.
Learn more about it on Wikipedia.
